Cruz out-struck, out-wrestled, out-shucked and out-jived Jorgensen on the way to a lopsided unanimous-decision win at Thursday’s WEC 53 event that further cemented the champ’s claim to be the world’s top 135-pounder.

And soon after the win, Cruz made little attempt to play the “whatever the UFC brings me” card. Instead, Cruz knows exactly what he wants: Urijah Faber (24-4 MMA, 9-3 WEC).

“Yes,” Cruz flatly said when asked if he’d be interested in the matchup.

The pair has some history together. Cruz’s lone loss came in a bid for the WEC featherweight title in a March 2007 bout against then-champion Faber. Since then, the two have each traded verbal jabs with each other and openly welcomed the matchup.

Cruz believes he’s matured greatly since then and hopes the rematch comes to fruition sooner rather than later.

“When I first came in, I have no excuses,” Cruz said. “[Faber] beat me fair and square that day. He was a better fighter than me that day, but it’s been three years. That was my very first training camp I ever had with my coach, Eric Del Fierro. Before that fight, I was still working a full-time job, and now I can devote every ounce of energy into fighting to become the best fighter I can.

“I just know that I’m a completely different fighter than I was then. My ground game is better. My wrestling is better. My standup is much better. I have weapons everywhere. I just know I’m on another level than him.”

The door was opened to the rematch when Faber recently dropped down to the bantamweight division after competing for much of his career at 145 pounds. While Faber dispatched of Takeya Mizugaki with ease at November’s WEC 52 event, Cruz said he’ll be more impressed if “The California Kid” is able to do the same against some of the division’s more accomplished athletes.

“[Faber] looked good in his last fight,” Cruz said. “He finished the guy very quickly, but still, he didn’t fight somebody that was at the super-top level at 135 pounds at this particular moment.

“Some of the things that he’s going to improve on are just basically trying to adjust to my game. That will be hard for him because it’s hard to find people that move as much as I do. There’s certain things he can do and certain things he can come up with – good luck, I don’t know what – but I’ll be ready.”

There’s been some speculation Cruz and Faber could be cast as opposing coaches in the upcoming 13th season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” which begins taping in January.

Cruz has a lingering hand injury he hopes to address shortly, but the 25-year-old said he’s be willing to wait on that surgery if it means a chance to coach opposite Faber and fight him at the conclusion of the season.

“I would accept it very much, and I’d be stoked, and it would be awesome because I would get my loss back,” Cruz said. “An opportunity like that, I might have to deal with the hand again.

“I’ll get my hand checked out, and I’ll take it stride by stride – talk to my camp, my coaches. They want what’s best for me, and I want what’s best for the longevity of my career, as well. This is something that just needs to get taken care of. I’ve known it because it’s been bothering me. Everybody goes into fights with injuries. It’s just part of the sport. I’ve been blessed, and I’ve been able to tolerate it.”

Coaches for the next season of “The Ultimate Fighter” are expected to be announced shortly. Until Cruz’s exact plans are determined, he’ll have to stick to reflecting on a tactical masterpiece that saw him land 283 strikes to Jorgensen’s mere 55, according to CompuStrike.

Cruz’s detractors will undoubtedly point out that the win was the UFC champ’s sixth decision result in his past seven fights, but he thinks it’s imperative to look beyond his method of victory and analyze the performance as a whole.

“I’m always disappointed when I don’t get a finish,” Cruz told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “I am; I mean that. I’m trying to go out there and finish the dude. I almost broke a record with landing punches and kicks. What else can you do? I was trying.

“I’m fighting the best guys on the planet in my division, and that’s basically all I can say. These guys are tough. They’re not going down. I dropped the dude. I wobbled him twice.

“Everybody says I don’t hit hard. Come on. What else do you want me to do? I’m doing what I can, and you know, I really believe that’s something I need to improve in my game, and I’m going to. Everybody evolves as a fighter. Everybody has something they need to get better at. That’s the next step for me.”

Whether or not that next step involved Faber remains to be seen, but for now, Cruz walks away from the WEC as the promotion’s final 135-pound champion and heads into the sport’s biggest entity as the UFC’s first-ever bantamweight champ.

It’s a responsibility Cruz doesn’t take lightly, and he hopes to to build on his eight-fight win streak just as quickly as possible.

“I still don’t know what to think about it, to be honest,” Cruz said. “It hasn’t set in. It’s just surreal. It really is. You hear that a lot, but it really is a surreal moment.

“I was able to get better and improve because of the fighters in my division in the WEC. Now I’ve been able to have the opportunity to win the UFC championship. It’s awesome. There’s no words to explain it. It’s a dream come true. I thank God every day for it.”

For complete coverage of WEC 53, stay tuned to the MMA Events section of MMAjunkie.com.

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